Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) Receives $45.38 Average PT from Brokerages

Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.3846.

LNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Lincoln National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Lincoln National from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Lincoln National from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Lincoln National in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln National in a report on Friday, March 27th.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln National stock opened at $34.86 on Friday. Lincoln National has a 52 week low of $27.58 and a 52 week high of $46.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 6.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.09.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.35. Lincoln National had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The company had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln National will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln National news, EVP James Waltman Reid sold 3,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.81, for a total transaction of $127,520.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,286.27. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder National Life Insuranc Lincoln bought 2,254,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.09 per share, with a total value of $25,002,249.74. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 9,784,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,508,130.98. This trade represents a 29.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,050 shares of company stock worth $734,041. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bain Capital Prairie LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $835,360,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln National in the second quarter valued at $87,362,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln National by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,681,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,922,000 after buying an additional 1,361,835 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 6.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,903,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,717,000 after buying an additional 1,183,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln National by 25.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,730,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,121,000 after buying an additional 1,157,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Financial Group, is a diversified financial services holding company focused on providing retirement, insurance, and wealth management solutions in the United States and select international markets. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company operates through several business segments, including Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection. Its offerings are designed to help individuals, families, and institutions plan and prepare for their financial futures.

The Retirement Plan Services segment delivers recordkeeping, administrative services, and investment management for defined contribution and defined benefit plans.